Some SPCA branches were still selling recently (and may still be) sterilization vouchers with the dog or cat they sell. In this program the owner pays for this time-limited voucher as part of the animal's purchase price, so that is not money out of the SPCA's pocket; in fact it is money in the SPCA's pocket if the animal is not sterilized which means the SPCA doesn't have to pay the vet for the voucher. At one time the redemption rate for the vouchers was as low as 20%* so the SPCA would have made quite a lot of money from that voucher program.

Some SPCAs offer low-income sterilization assistance programs to the public, but the limitations are so onerous that the assistance may not be very effective.

Applicants for SPCA low-income sterilization programs cannot apply by telephone, they have to get to the SPCA to bring in proof of low-income (not easy for the poorest). Then they are charged for part of the price, sometimes far more than the SPCA pays. The Victoria SPCA charges the poor $50 for a cat spay and $30 for a cat neuter - again, too much money for the neediest, the people whose dogs and cats are reproducing yearly. On Indian reserves, breeding is endemic and the only assistance that is of any use is absolutely free sterilization and vaccines, yet the SPCA does not offer that, though Big Heart Rescue does where and when it can afford to. (The multi-million dollar BC SPCA is attempting to silence Big Heart Rescue president Gail Moerkerken, by suing her in BC Supreme Court. Pacific Animal Foundation provides no-strings assistance for cats on North Shore reserves. The wealthy SPCA doesn't.)

Then the poor must pay the vet for vaccines if their pet's vaccines are not up-to-date (common among the poor). This can add $40 to $60 to the $50 or $30 they have already paid. The costs of the SPCA's assistance program is now a barrier to the poorest who want their pets to stop reproducing. If the cat has any medical problems: fleas, worms, infections, tooth decay or anything at all medically wrong, the SPCA in Victoria at least, refuses to pay for those needs. So a cat that comes in with ear mites, can go home with ear mites unless the low-income owner pays.

This is the limited assistance offered by the Victoria SPCA which was recently left $400,000 specifically for the care of cats.

*Figure provided by a long-time member of the Victoria SPCA Board of Directors prior to amalgamation in November 2001.